For some, light music is the colourful and delightful orchestration of a well known popular or show tune. For others, myself included, light music is the well formed orchestral miniature of three or four minutes duration, usually, but not always, in a bright and breezy style. Whatever your likes in light music this disk has something for everyone.

Starting with Vivian Ellis’s delightful
Alpine Pastures - well known as the signature tune for the long running BBC Radio panel game
My Word - in a racy arrangement by Sidney Torch, the magical touch is continued with David Rose’s
The Christmas Tree-this series has, I imagine, introduced many people to a lot of Rose’s work previously unknown to them.

I am especially happy that pieces like Joyce Cochrane’s
Flowing Stream-as lovely a piece of Englishness as could be-have been included, and to follow it with King Palmer’s jaunty
Going Concern-here’s a business unaffected by the recession-and Eric Coates’s march
High Flight-a title new to me-makes a nice three piece suite of genuine Englishness.
John Scott Trotter’s
Escape To Monaco would, more correctly, be called
Escape to Morocco for it has a sultry elegance (as well as a passing mention of the great Cole Porter song
In the Still of the Night) which I doubt can be found in Europe! Henry Croudson’s
Jump For Joy is a real pleasure, and even if no one is jumping too high there is much joy here.

Sherman Myers’s
Moonlight On The Ganges is as much about the Ganges as Trotter’s
Escape To Monaco is about Monaco. It’s a lovely nocturne, mind you, with some delightful writing for French Horns. Jose Belmonte’s
The Kiss is a passionate tango-and I suspect that the kiss was hot-with a prominent part for accordion, thus some Frenchness is injected into the mix. Fascinating. Hal Mooney’s
Leo starts as if it’s going to introduce some 1950s TV cop show but quickly turns into a light romp. This is one of the many highlights of this disk. Joseph F Kuhn’s
Noche Amour is another tropical romance, José Armandola’s
Rose–Beetle Goes A–Wooing is a marvellous piece of whimsy in the manner of Ernest Bucalossi’s
The Grasshopper’s Dance, but without the same number of legs, and with lots of the music hall in it.
Jack Coles’
Sunshine Express is the fast-track cousin of Ellis’s
Coronation Scot. Jeff Alexander’s
Yellow was written for a concept album recorded by Sinatra’s own label when it opened for business, and it starts and ends as a sort of celebration of a child’s tune but has a more serious middle section. The disk ends with Cécile Chaminade’s
Zingara in a nicely conceived arrangement which has all the colour and vivacity necessary for a piece with this name. My favourite amongst the orchestral items is Percy Fletcher’s
Vanity Fair, a breezy piece in the John Ansell mould. Great stuff!
Of the songs,
Baubles, Bangles And Beads is full of eastern promise,
Over The Rainbow has the requisite amount of yearning to it, Robert Farnon’s sensitive arrangement of
It Wouldn't Be Love is a subtle piece, but the best of this bunch is Vernon Duke’s
What Is There To Say, made all the more memorable by a great performance by Morton Gould and his Orchestra.

I, again, find myself marvelling at Guild’s choice of repertoire, and this idea of an A–Z is a good one for it will make for even more varied programmes in future issues. As usual the sound is very good, the notes helpful and the whole package attractive. How many more times can I say that this is another success for Guild’s Light Music series? As long as they keep making them this good!

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